Jj is for Jottings 162. The Connection Between Literacy and Music.
There is a strong connection between literacy and music. Here, music includes learning a musical instrument and/or singing. It actually goes further: children who learn and practise music also have improved performance in executive function, arts and mathematics. (The core areas of executive function are working memory, inhibitory control, and selective attention.) Let’s go into why this is the case. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 161. What is Phubbing?
Question: “What is Phubbing?” Answer: “Telephone snubbing.” The word comes from ‘phone’ and ‘snubbing’. It is the act of ignoring people in favour of a telephone. Look around you in almost any public place and you will see numerous acts of phubbing occurring. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 160. Creativity in Children, Part 2.
Following on from Part 1, we will now go into more activities in greater detail in Creativity in Children, Part 2. In order for creativity to flourish, it is important for us to slow down and create the time and headspace to allow room for creativity. Don’t fall into the trap of having your child’s time completely filled with planned activities. There needs to be unplanned time when you can seize the moment, rather than bustling along to the next activity. Simply getting out and about can lead to all sorts of observations and spark creative thoughts and ideas. And leave those screens at home. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 159. Creativity in Children, Part 1.
Walk into any preschool/kindergarten and you see that they provide many opportunities for creativity in children. Why is that? Because arts and crafts are one of the most important ways to help children develop and grow between ages 3-8. Here is a chart of communication milestones as a point of reference. Creativity isn’t just about art and crafts, but they are major avenues for growth and development at these ages. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 158. Smartphones in Schools.
A few days ago (July 2023) in Australia, smartphones in schools were banned. Some states had already banned or restricted their use, but the ban is now nationwide. The ban also includes smartwatches. There are quite a few reasons to ban smartphones in schools given below, but there is also the overriding factor of how smartphones affect the brain.
Smartphones in Schools. “I’m not going to have a smartphone – and I’m not going to school, either.”
Jj is for Jottings 156. Speech Sound Problems: /th/
The speech sound problem /th/ is more complicated than many other sounds. This is because in some parts of the English-speaking world, substituting /f/ for /th/ is normal, part of a dialect. In this case it is not a speech sound problem. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 155. Auditory Discrimination and Sound Errors.
When children make speech sound errors, we need to consider auditory discrimination and speech sound errors. A child needs to be able to discriminate the difference between the correct sound and what they are saying instead. Otherwise they don’t have much chance of replacing the error sound with the correct (target) sound. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 154. How Smartphones Affect the Brain.
In this article we will cover some of the latest research on how smartphones affect the brain. We have previously discussed the effects of screen time on children. Amongst other aspects, this included language delay in children exposed to screens at an early age. We have also discussed the effects of digital distraction, which relates to a range of technological devices. Here we will look into the specific effects on the brain of smartphones, rather than screens in general. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 153. Speech Sound Problems: /k,g/
We have previously learned about /s/ as a speech sound problem. Let us now focus on speech sound problems: /k,g/. As always, if your child makes speech errors, you need to know whether the error is actually appropriate for age. (In which case, is it actually an error? Perhaps an “age-appropriate substitution”!) You can find out the rough developmental ages for speech sounds here. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 152. The Effects of Watching Violence.
Did you know that the effects of watching violence are different from the effects of simply reading about violence? Researchers consistently find that, the more often you watch disturbing scenes, the more anxious you become. This can result in forming long-term traumatic memories. Your brain is unable to distinguish between reality and fiction when viewing violence on screen. Continue reading
